This invention relates to a game that involves tossing a disk onto an essentially horizontal target surface containing at least one target hole therein. The object of the game is to toss a disk into the target hole or onto adjacent areas of the target surface that have values (points) marked thereon. The winner is the perso (or team) that accumulates the most points after a predetermined number of tosses, or the person that first achieves a predetermined number of points.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,877,256 to D. Falloon shows a tossing game wherein annular disks or rings are thrown toward a target device located on a ground or floor surface. The target device comprises a relatively large upstanding box or tray. Three relatively small upright tubes of graduated height are arranged within the box. The object of the game is to land a disk in the tallest cup, or in the alternative, the other cups or box area surrounding the cups.
One disadvantage of the game shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,877,256 is that when the disk strikes the edge of a cup or the upper edge of the box it is apt to rebound away from the target device. The game tends to reward the lucky player, not the player with the most skill.
The present invention contemplates a disk tossing game wherein the target surface is formed by a flat soft cushioner pad having at least one target hole therein. When a disk is thrown onto the cushioner pad it tends to stay on the pad surface, rather than rebounding off the target. The cushioner pad is comprised of a layer of soft non-rigid resilient foam material that tends to deflect when impacted by a thrown disk. Deflection of the foam pad material absorbs at least some of the kinetic energy of the disk, thereby keeping the disk on the pad.
The target is constructed so that the foam cushioner pad is tilted at about ten degrees from the horizontal, with the rear edge of the pad being higher than the front edge. Forward momentum of a disk striking the pad is at least partly counteracted by the tilted pad surface. Should the disk rebound from the pad surface it will tend to move essentially straight up (i.e. vertically) rather than continuing in a forward direction dictated by its forward momentum.
An aim of the invention is to provide a game having a target surface tending to cause a tossed disk to stay on, or at least close to, its initial landing point on the target surface.